Dallas City News

We are at day 42 of our 99 day countdown until the regular season. Here is your daily fact associated with number 42.

The shortest player currently in the NFL is number 42 for Dallas, Deuce Vaughn.

Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Christopher Deuce Vaughn was born November 2, 2001 and selected by Dallas in the sixth-round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Vaughn was an interesting prospect having led all FBS players in all-purpose yards in 2022 (1,936 yards). His draft moment was emotional highlight of the NFL draft not just for Cowboys fans, but football fans across the league. His father, Chris Vaughn, who works as a college scout for Dallas, was given the privilege of telling his own son the news that he was about to become a Cowboy with pick number 212. He would be the shortest player ever drafted in NFL history since records began.

Vaughn’s rookie year looked intriguing as he made plays in training camp and preseason games, and offered special teams reps. He would make the final roster and play rarely in the regular season. Vaughn would have 23 rushing attempts for an average 1.7 yards-per-carry before being shutdown for the year after Week 16 against Detroit.

Currently there are 12 players listed at 5-foot-7 or shorter in the league, and six players at 5-foot-6 or less. Only one player is listed at 5-foot-5 currently, which is Vaughn, but he’s not the shortest in history. The honor of shortest NFL player belongs to Jack Shapiro, who stood 5-foot-1. If you’re struggling to rack your brains on the name don’t worry, that’s because the extremely short running back played only one NFL game for the Staten Island Stapletons, back in 1929.

Butch Meeker, another former back, comes in as the second-shortest player at 5-3. He saw a bit more NFL action than Shapiro, playing in 20 NFL games and making six starts between 1930 and 1931 for the Providence Steam Roller. In the Super Bowl era, Reggie Smith comes in as the shortest at 5-foot-4. Smith, a wide receiver who played in 1980, 1981 and 1987 for the Falcons and Jets, is the only NFL player shorter than 5-foot-5 to play in the NFL since 1966.

In NFL history, Vaughn joins the tie for 21st among shortest players. Among players during the Super Bowl era, he would be tied for seventh.

Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images